I walked into Sebastian’s and was assaulted by the smells wafting out from the kitchen. I now knew why Sebastian hired Rosa; she was a damn good cook.

Dumping all my shopping bags by the door, I slipped my chunky nude shoes off and kicked them to the side of the door, I’d put them away later. I walked down the passage as I massaged the back of my
neck. The bra I had on wasn’t mine; it was a new one that the stylist Sebastian hired had picked out. I mean it was nice and expensive but it was one of those bras that looked good on but felt like
shit, it did nothing to hold or support my heavy boobs other than make them look good.

I couldn’t wait to take it off and let them swing free.

Heading straight to the fridge to grab a cold beer, I didn’t take notice of the person at the cooker, maybe I should have. I stepped back from the fridge and popped the top only to see Naomi
cooking up a storm.

“What are you doing?” I asked watching her chopping up peppers.

“I’m cooking.” she said like I’d asked about the weather.

“Where is everybody?”

“I gave them the night off and that includes you. Ralph explained to me that you are staff just like him and Rosa so you’re included in that night off.”

I stood there stupefied and completely and utterly lost for words. Was this the same woman that attacked me last night and did she just call me staff?

“I’m not staff.”

“Of course you are.” she smiled and looked at me as if were the one that was touched out of the two of us.

“I’m not staff.” I repeated a little sterner this time.

“When someone pays you for a service, you become an employee of theirs. Is Sebastian paying you or not?”

My teeth ground together so hard that my jaw ached. I was sure I’d break a tooth too. I took a long drink of my beer and slammed the bottle down on the counter, wanting it to really be her face.
“You know shit.”

She smirked and put the chopped peppers into the stir fry she was cooking. “I know all about you and your three thousand pounds. You won’t be here past tomorrow. Sebastian has me now and his
child.” she patted her still flat stomach. “you were just...a passing thing.”

I’ve never wanted to hit someone so much in my life than this woman standing in front of me. This was ridiculous. I didn’t sign up for this shit. I signed up to give a man, namely Sebastian,
company and to attend functions with him and shag him once in a while. What I didn’t sign up for was a bitchy, conniving ex wife who was trying to tie him down with a child that could potentially
not be his and her insulting and completely unnecessary comments.

“Is Sebastian in?”

“No. He’s been working from home today and spending some intimate time with me if you know what I mean.” she smiled and batted her eyelashes. “I’ll admit it hasn’t been as long for him with you
picking up that slack but for me it’s been what seemed like forever and to feel him inside of me again...” she trailed off, her eyes turning all dreamy.

The bird was bat shit crazy.

I wasn’t staying for this. I finished the rest of my beer and threw the bottle across the room, watching it smash into smithereens as it hit the bin. Shot!

As I walked out, I heard her call my name. I stopped and waited to see what she would say. As soon as I stopped, I realised I’d made a mistake.

“Does he know your a child of the state?” her slippery, snake voice slithered. “does he know you have rapist blood running through your veins?”

Oh she so did not just say that. I span around so fast, I almost knocked myself over. “you better shut it or I promise you, I will.” I threatened.

“What are you going to do?” she stood there with her arms crossed over her chest with that smug smile on her face that I wanted to wipe off so fucking badly.

“Fuck you.”

“No thank you.” she wrinkled her nose. “I know where you’ve been, so does half of London I imagine. I’m going to recommend that Sebastian get tested, you never know what you might be carrying.”

My blood was boiling, my temper spiking. I glanced down at my hands seeing the uncontrollably shake. Red began to coat my vision and my breathing became laboured. I needed to get out of here before
things turned really nasty.

I ignored her shouted out comments as I ran down the passage to my room. I ripped the new clothing off that Sebastian had bought me, listening to the material tear and threw it across the room and
watched them sail through the air. I stomped to my closet and tore through everything until I could find my own clothes. I didn’t need anything from him or from here.

When I was dressed, I stuffed a couple of bracelets on my wrists, swiped some lip gloss on my lips and grabbed my bag from the bed and stormed out.

I could hear the bitch singing, actually singing in the kitchen. I ignored my bags by the door and slammed the huge wooden front door behind me and stalked to the lift, jabbing my finger hard at
the button.

I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I looked down at my hands again and noticed they were shaking more than they were in the kitchen. My whole body was actually. I took deep breaths trying to control
it. My skin felt itchy and too tight for my body.

Finally the lift came and luckily it was empty, I wasn’t in the mood for talking to anyone right now. I jabbed the button for the ground floor and waited for the lift to drop. When it did, I
stormed out of the lift and bumped into someone’s shoulder not even bothering to apologise.

“Victoria.” Bruce’s voice bounded through the lobby.

I didn’t want to ignore him but I wasn’t a very nice person at the moment. So I carried on, my trainers screeching against the too clean, too shiny floor. I pushed the glass doors open and stepped
out into the fresh air. I sucked in lungful after lungful of the stuff, begging my heart to calm down and my lungs to stop burning.

Stepping up to the curb, I threw myself onto into the road as a black cab appeared from around the corner. He pulled over, flicking his orange light off. I jumped in and slammed the door closed,
letting myself fall into the dark seat.

“Where to, love?”

I opened my mouth to tell him where I wanted to go but I didn’t really know.

Places frantically popped up through my mind and I found myself rattling off the first one my brain selected.

The man nodded and pulled away.

Only when the cab stopped did I notice that I’d taken myself to Rick’s bar. I paid the cabbie and got out, heading straight for the bar doors. I pushed through the glass and wood doors, spotting
Rick behind the bar. His light coloured brows rose in surprise when he saw me, a smile beginning to stretch across his face. I stopped at the bar and his face changed. “Oh no.” he said as he leaned
across and wrapped his arms around me. “what happened?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” I said and moved out of his arms. I reached into my bag and slapped down one hundred pounds from the envelope, pushing them across the wooden surface to him. “Keep
them coming.”

“Vic-“

I held up a hand. “if you don’t want to serve me Rick, there are plenty of other bars around willing to take my custom.” I knew it was a cheap shot but I wasn’t in the mood.

His square jaw ticked before he took my money and stashed it aside. He then got to work on my poisons. He slipped a beer, a shot and a brandy in front of me. Damn, the man knew me well.

“Thanks.” I downed the shot and slid the glass back to him and then picked up the brandy and knocked that back too cringing at the burn then took the beer and began to drink that.

“Take the booth in the corner.” Rick ordered.

I nodded as I twisted on the stool. I slipped off and made my way over to the booth in the corner, slumping down into the seat.

I drunk half my beer down and raised my hand for more drinks just as the phone in my bag rung. I pulled it out and laughed at the name across the screen.

Sebastian.

Like I wanted to speak to him right now. All I wanted was to get drunk and forget everything that Munster said to me in the kitchen.

For years, I’d tried to get over my past, a past that was created for me before I was even born. I was tainted just by being made and I didn’t even ask to be here in the first place.

Rick appeared at the booth with another beer and a brandy. He set them on the round wooden table then leaned into it, raising a brow at the constant ringing phone next to me. “you gonna answer
that?”

“Nope,” I finished my first beer and handed him the empty bottle then reached for the other one. “Do you not have to work?” seeing as he was just standing there like an extra in a movie.

He ignored me. “how about you talk to me?”

I snorted and sucked back my fresh beer. “How about no,”

“What happened?”

Did people not get that I wanted to be alone? Maybe I should have made a sign and hung it around my neck or maybe written it in big black ink across my forehead. “I want to be alone.”

“Being alone when you feel like this is not good. Please talk to me Vic.” Rick pleaded.

“I don’t feel like anything.” I lied. “I just came out for a drink in a friend’s bar.”

Rick snorted. “Yeah and my name is Bobby Brown. Now quit the shit and tell me the truth.”

I rolled my eyes and pointed my beer at him. “get me another one of these and you’re on.”

Rick disappeared and came back with two beers, one for me and one for him. I snatched my one and put it on my side of the table just in case he decided to take it away from me which I knew he would
eventually. My phone rung again so I pushed that aside too.

“So,” he started and settled into the booth with me. “talk.”

I sighed and blew out a breath. “I gather you know about Sebastian?”

He nodded his head slowly. “Yeah, Jenna told me. Is that who keeps ringing?”

“Yep, we went to a hotel event last night because he’s a businessman and all that.” I waved a hand. “his ex wife turned up and we got into a fight and well, she’s at his place.”

“And she’s causing you trouble?”

Trouble wasn’t the word for it.

I laughed without humour. “she told me I was staff and I had the night off so here I am.”

He sat back against the black cushioned booth and crossed his muscled arms over his chest. I guess it helped carting all those barrels and crates around. “What else did she say?”

I looked at him, his light blue eyes that I’d known for so long watching my every move. “how do you know she said something else?”

“Because I know you, you can take a lot of shit before you hit back or collapse. If it was only last night all this stuff started then I’m guaranteeing she’s been hitting you regularly in the past
twenty four hours.”

Damn he was good. I smiled and finished off my beer and reached for the other one I put aside as my phone dinged with an email. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, my bracelets jingling with
the movement. “She asked if Sebastian knew I had rapist blood flowing through me.” I admitted quietly.

“I’ll get you another drink.” yeah, it was bad and he knew it.

I nodded absently and continued to swallow my beer as I looked around. The bar had had a couple of changes to it. For instance, in the beginning when Rick and his partner bought it, it was a bit
sparse and dead but now there was light music playing in the speakers above booths and tables. The lights weren’t heavy or too dull; the tables were worn in giving the place that vintage older look
but were clean all at the same time. They also served food between certain hours.

Rick came back with another two beers and I saw they were both for me.

“What else did she say?” he asked, sipping his own beer then licking his lips.

My shoulders lifted up and down in a sort of shrug. “What more was there to say? I think that is the whole lot combined. Even if she came out with all the shit about me being placed into homes as a
child, nothing beats being made by a rapist, huh?”

Rick reached across the table for my hand. He took it in his and held on tight. “You know that all he did was create you not make you the person you are today.”

“You’re sweet.” I smiled, almost sadly, giving his hand a squeeze. “you try to say the right things but you know the truth just like I do. I’ve been running from it all of my life and now at the
age of twenty four, I’m still running from it.”

“You don’t need to run from anything.”

“If I didn’t need to run from anything, Rick,” I sighed heavily. “Then when someone mentioned it whether it is in a nasty way or not, I’d not get angry or bitter or upset about it, would I?”

“Okay.” he patted my hand. “you’re right. I can’t argue with that but what I can argue with is you sitting here all night drinking. It’s not going to help.”

“Aint you supposed to want to keep me here longer, so you can scavenge even more hard earned money out of my pockets rather than getting me to go home?”

He laughed his smile lighting up his face. “again, your right but you aren’t just a customer just a friend, family even and I don’t do that to people I care about so, finish off those beers and get
going. Are you going home?”

That was a good question. My boiler still wasn’t fixed because my landlord was playing hide and go seek so that left Sebastian’s and well I’d rather go home to no hot water than back to there. Or
maybe I could go to Jen’s. I could wait around for Rick to finish work and leave with him. “I’ll go with you.” I told him.

“Oh no.” he shook his head and pushed up from the table. “you don’t get out of it that easily. The Vic I know does not run and does not hide. You’ve faced your fears, you’ve faced the bullies and
most importantly, you’ve faced the nasty truth, don’t keep running.”

****

No matter how much I tried to get Rick to give me another drink, he wouldn’t. No matter how many times I threatened to go somewhere else like I did in the beginning, he still wouldn’t give me one.
I even stooped so low as to attempt to blackmail his bartender into giving me a beer and he was going for it too until Rick came along and stopped it.

Instead, he walked me outside and waited with me for a cab to come and spoke directly to the driver to take me back to Sebastian’s and nowhere else. I think I saw him slide the cabbie a twenty just
to be sure.

Rick pulled me to him, wrapping his big arms around me and rubbed my back. “you can do this. We love you, me and Jen.”

“I know.” I sighed into his chest. “I love you both too.”

He stepped away and placed his hands on my shoulders. “get gone. I don’t want to see your face again whilst your pouting, sneering, crying or glaring.”

I pouted just to piss him off. “I didn’t cry.”

“Not yet you didn’t. I saved you from that. Now go.” he moved me over to the cab and actually pushed me inside.

Chapter thirteen

You’re supposed to be talking.

“Where the fuck have you been?”

Those were the first words out of Sebastian’s mouth the moment the front door closed. I knew the moment I walked into the lobby downstairs, Bruce had gotten onto the phone and grassed me up.

I turned from the door and looked to see Sebastian, Ralph and Rosa all standing there glaring at me with a vengeance. Yup they were pissed. That made four of us.

I shrugged and toed off my shoes, kicking them aside. I’d put them away later. I noticed that my bags and shoes I’d left there earlier were now gone.

“I was told to have the night off, as were Ralph and Rosa.” I said simply as I walked around them to the kitchen. I knew they’d follow, just like they did.

Grabbing a beer from the fridge, I hopped up onto the counter and looked around the kitchen seeing it sparkling. So they must have all enjoyed their meal that the bitch cooked.

“Have you eaten?” Rosa asked coming to stand next to where my legs were swinging.

“Nope and I’m not hungry thank you. I’m just gonna have this beer then I’m hitting the sack.”

“Don’t you think you’ve had enough of them?” Sebastian nodded to the beer in my hand that was half empty already.

“Nope, In fact, I haven’t had enough. The only reason I’m sort of sober is because a very nice man told me to get gone otherwise, I’d probably be in some back alley puking my guts up right now.”

Rosa patted my hand. “You shouldn’t do that.”

I could see the concern present in her eyes. I smiled a little and put the beer down. “You’re right but sometimes Rosa.” I sighed heavily. “Getting that drunk makes you forget everything and I mean
everything.”

No-one said anything after that. I hopped down off the side and gave Rosa a hug and walked out of the kitchen. I wasn’t in the mood for chit chat.

****

Persistent knocking at my bedroom door woke me up from sleep. I leaned up on my elbows, blinking into the darkness wondering whether I was hearing things or not. I frowned when I realised that I
hadn’t been hearing things, someone was knocking at my door and not going away.

Huffing, I threw the duvet back and plodded over to the door. I leaned into the cold wood, placing my ear against it, listening for movement.

“Victoria.” that was Sebastian’s voice.

Seeing as I didn’t know whether the bitch was still in residence, I’d locked my door and stuck a chair under the handle again making sure no-one could get in and obviously it worked.

“Victoria.” my name came again.

I blew out a breath and crossed my arms over my chest, leaning against the wall. “What?”

“Open the door.”

“Why?”

“Just open the door.”

Sighing, I pulled the chair away setting it aside and flipped the lock. The moment the door opened, Sebastian’s hand gripped the thick wood and he barged his way in closing the door after him,
flicking the lock back into place.

I raised an eyebrow, watching him locking my door. My eyes barely saw him in the darkness but what I could see, made my lick my lips. He stood there in just a pair of cut off shorts that had frayed
edges around his knees and nothing else. His bare smooth chest was just inches from me and yet I couldn’t touch.

I rubbed my forehead with the tips of my fingers. “What do you want?”

“We need to talk.”

What was the time?

I looked over to the alarm clock and saw it was three thirty in the freaking morning. “What, now?”

“Yes, it can’t wait.” his tone booked no argument.

I climbed back in bed. He could stand there if he wanted to talk. “Fine but don’t take too long, I’m tired.”

Instead of staying where he was, he crawled up the bed and slid in next to me. Of course we weren’t touching because he didn’t allow that but I could feel his body heat next to me. This was just
pure torture.

When he was silent for what felt like forever, I sighed in annoyance. “Are you going to talk?”

“Where did you go earlier?”

That’s what he wanted to talk about? “To a friends bar.”

“Why?”

“Naomi didn’t tell you?”

He shifted in the bed so he was lying on his side facing me. Even in the dark with only the London skyline bringing minute light, I could see his eyes watching me. His hair was loose and hanging
around his shoulders.

“All Naomi said was that you came back here and dropped off your bags then left. I knew something else happened because you would have emailed me, phoned me or something but you did neither. In
fact, you did nothing. I even called downstairs and Bruce told me you seemed upset when you left.”

She was a bitch with a capital B. “Naomi’s a fucking liar.” I spat. “Where is she anyway?”

“I sent her home.”

“About fucking time,” I muttered and actually breathed out a sigh of relief. So I didn’t need to sleep with my door locked and a chair up against it anymore.

“So, what did she say to you this time?”

Like I was going to tell him so, I shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. If she’s not here, she’s not my problem.”

“That’s quite true.” he agreed. “But I’d still like to know.”

“Like I said, it doesn’t matter.”

Sebastian sighed heavily, moving so close to me; I could feel his warm breath ghost over my face. Then I felt his hand wrap around my waist, pulling me to him, so I was squished against his chest.
I gritted my teeth, laying there still because whichever way I moved, I’d touch him and he hadn’t told me that was okay, yet.

“I thought you had gone as in left.” he said ever so quietly. His fingers began tracing little swirls over my t-shirt covered stomach.

“No.”

“Why didn’t you go home?”

I laughed without humour remembering Rick’s words from earlier. “because a very nice man, the same one who told me to get gone told me to stop running and if I’d have gone home, I’d have been in
fact running.”

“Running from what?” he asked, pressing a kiss to my cheek.

“Stop that.” I said, lamely without any real conviction. “You’re supposed to be talking.”

He pressed a kiss to my neck this time making me tilt my head back, giving him better access. “I am talking.”

“No, you’re talking and kissing me at the same time. Not the same thing.”

“Maybe,” a kiss to my shoulder. “I don’t want to talk.” a kiss to my chest as he moved downwards. “Maybe I want to do something.” a kiss to my boob through the red t-shirt I had put on for bed.
“Complete different.” a kiss to my material covered stomach.

I bit my bottom lip as I watched him move down my body, moving my knees aside so he could slide in between them. He leaned up and gripped the bottom of my t-shirt in his hands and pulled it up over
my head, setting it down on the pillow next to me.

When I laid there bare in only my knickers, I let my head drop back against the goose filled pillows. This was pure and utter torture. He could touch me like this and yet I couldn’t respond. “Do
you mind?”

Sebastian didn’t answer. Instead, I felt the tips of his fingers dance over my stomach, making goose bumps appear in his wake, causing my stomach muscles to quiver and tighten. His hands moved to
my hips, where his manicured nails gripped the edges of my knickers and pulled them down over my hips and down my legs. Sebastian sat up on his knees and took each of my feet out of the cotton
knickers and tossed them aside.

Once I was bare in front of him, his soft hands held up my legs, pressing my feet to his shoulders. He pressed a kiss to each of my ankles, his soft lips cushioning kisses up my legs until he
reached the back of my knees where he bit into the tender flesh making me cry out.

His big hands splayed the inside of my knees and pushed them apart so they fell open, off his shoulders, leaving my bare, hairless centre to his gaze and attention. I was splayed out for his
inspection.

Whilst his hands continued to splay me apart, his face caressed my centre, his nose pressed against my clit as his tongue licked me from the top of my pussy all the way to my puckered rosette. His
hot breath and moist tongue created carnage as both elicited tight moans from my throat and rich cream to leak from inside me.

One of his hands left my thigh and rubbed back and fourth over my entrance, his nimble fingers pressing and prodding, holding me open for that long, sensuous muscle to lick me from the inside out.

I tucked my hands against the headboard to save reaching out, feeling his silky soft hair in my grip. My eyes slipped closed as his tongue ever so persistent, made my hips buck as he seemed to
scoop every single drip of my cream from me.

His fingers moved from my entrance to my clit where his palm pressed against my mound, his fingers massaging the soft pad of my pussy whilst his thumb stroked and teased my clit, dragging her out
from under the protection of her hood.

My hips shot up when I felt his tongue leave my body only to be replaced by two of his long fingers entering me and pressing deep inside, scissoring, wiggling and stroking along my lightly
quivering walls.

His thumb left my clit, only to be taken over by the wet hot cavern that was his mouth. He sucked on my little bud, taking it into his mouth, his teeth grabbing it, holding it between them, and
then he laved and flicked his tongue over the small round ball, making me jerk and moan.

“Sebastian.” I gasped when he bit down harder sending jolts of electricity through my system. My whole body was one big trembling mass of goo and all thanks to the gorgeous man between my legs.

His deft fingers jabbed inside me, the tips of them crooking against my special spot, his fingers inviting her to come out and play. “Sebastian, I’m gonna squirt if you carry on...” I warned. With
his constant back and fourth motion of his hand entering me, hitting my spot every time, I knew I was going to squirt all over him and it was going to be hot and heavy.

Sebastian obviously wanted me to squirt, in fact, was encouraging it. His fingers pushed harder and faster inside me, tickling, tormenting my little spot as his tongue danced over my clit, goading
her out of her hood, promising good times.

His tongue left off my clit, as his fingers renewed their vigour and attacked my pussy with ultimate challenge. I moaned out loud, as heat stole through my body, blossoming and blooming in its
wake. Tingling sensations danced a Russian stampede through me and exploded in my stomach. A light sweat broke out over my skin, my chest rising and falling, my heart beating frantically against my
ribs. The lower half of my body moved with uncontrolled rhythm and wild beats, causing twitching and jerking.

I closed my eyes as I felt my orgasm roaring on through my extremities. My hands curled into fists and my toes curled until they were turned in on themselves.

My eyes popped open when I felt a presence next to me. I tilted my head back to look into Sebastian’s face. I couldn’t see much because of the darkness but I could see and feel the heat pouring
from his eyes.

“Squirt all over me, Victoria. Give me your juice.” he purred. His face was this close to mine. I wanted to lurch forward and lick and suck at his mouth at the same time I exploded all
over him and his hand but I stayed where I was fighting, staving off the impending orgasm that I knew would be earth shattering.

My eyes snapped open when I saw and felt a piston of juice shoot out of me. Sebastian moved down from my side and positioned himself back in between my legs; his finger went to my clit, rubbing her
in fierce circles as his mouth sucked up my escaping juices.

Over my own rusty screaming and ragged breaths tearing away at my chest, I could hear the slurping and sucking of Sebastian’s mouth taking down everything I had to give, gulping down my releases.

When I finished aiming my juice, I collapsed back on the bed, my whole body as weak as a frail kitten. My body jerked and was wracked by spasms, my eyesight blurring and my ears only taking in
white noise. I’d never come so hard and so good in my life.

I was numbly aware of Sebastian climbing back up my body and grabbing my t-shirt. He slipped it back over my spaghetti limp body and pulled me into his arms. I closed my eyes with a sigh and
relaxed into his chest feeling my climax coating his skin under my cheek, his arm rubbing up and down my material covered back.

“Sleep now, sweet Victoria.” Sebastian whispered against the top of my head.

Soon after, with nothing else left in me, I fell asleep in his arms.

Chapter Fourteen

Ignore her.

Banging at my door had me opening my eyes. I expected to squint but I didn’t. I looked over at my alarm clock and saw it was just after five in the morning. What the hell?

I went to move and noticed that I couldn’t. I looked down and saw a golden skin coloured arm wrapped around my waist. That’s when I felt the heat behind me and the light puffs of air on my neck.

The banging got louder, jerking Sebastian awake. His arm tightened by reflex around my waist before he removed it. I immediately felt the loss. I closed my eyes, listening to him scrub his hands
down his face and get up from the bed then plod over to the door. The lock was disengaged then I heard Ralph’s voice.

“She’s here again.”

I forgot about trying to go back to sleep and turned over in bed making sure to keep the sheet around me. “Who?” by the look on his face, I shouldn’t have asked.

Did that bitch not get it?

Sebastian’s jaw ticked as he leaned against the door frame. “What is the time?” he yawned and shook his head, his eyes blinking the tiredness away.

“Just after five,” Ralph said. “I’ve got her in the living room.”

“What does she want?” I asked as I got up. I gathered the sheet around me like a toga and walked to my bathroom where I dropped the sheet to the floor, grabbing my robe at the same time and
slipping it on. I came back out securing the belt. “Well?”

Sebastian obviously didn’t know because he looked at Ralph expectedly just like I did. “Will you just say it?” Sebastian snapped.

The big black man shifted on the spot. Oh no, this didn’t sound or look good “She arrived about twenty minutes ago telling me that she’s been trying to phone you but you haven’t answered.” he
looked at me but said nothing. “Anyway she told me that your Mother called her because you wouldn’t take her calls and that your Father has died.”

Holy crap on a stick!

I sucked in a breath and bit my bottom lip. I watched for Sebastian’s reaction but there was no reaction. His eyes didn’t even blink.

“And?” he asked.

Oh well, that explained the loss of reaction. I guess they weren’t close then. I know he said there was no love in his house but nothing at all? Not even an incey wincey little bit?

Ralph scrubbed his tired eyes. “That’s what I told her but do you think she would listen? I think she expects you to be all upset and depressed and need her.”

“If she was married to you, then wouldn’t she know you and your family?” I commented, not getting how you could give yourself over to someone and not know that.

Both of them looked at me with matching looks on their faces. “money.” was all they said as if that explained everything. Maybe it was just better that I shut up.

I yawned, covering my mouth with the back of my hand. “God, I need coffee.” and the strong stuff as well.

Ralph nodded. “I’ll get some on.” then he was gone.

I stepped up to Sebastian. I immediately smelt my release still coating his skin. I hid a smile and looked up into his unreadable face. “How are you?”

“Me?” he laughed bitterly. “Honestly?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t know. I mean I didn’t care for the man so I’m not upset or at least I don’t think so but I can feel something has shifted inside of me in just the time it has taken Ralph to tell me.”

“Partly.” he agreed, nodding. “If I know my parents or my family then there is a will involved somewhere that probably requires my attention.”

“Do you think that’s why Naomi’s here?” I blurted.

Sebastian snorted and wrapped an arm around my shoulder, bringing me close to him. “I didn’t think about that but that sounds about right, doesn’t it?”

I didn’t answer. I didn’t want to say anything else. The change that Sebastian was talking about, I could feel already. It didn’t happen immediately but now, I could feel something had changed.

Not wanting to touch him with my hands, I laid my head on his shoulder and led him out of the bedroom where we saw Naomi at the end of the hall. I went to move away from Sebastian but he held onto
me.

I could see the snarl already building on Naomi’s face. The moment we hit the kitchen doorway, she threw herself in his arms, like some heartbroken damsel in distress. I didn’t miss and neither did
Sebastian, the punch in my side for me to move away from her prize.

Sebastian pushed her away and glared down at her. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“What?” she cried, tears falling down her face. “What did I do?”

“I just saw what you did and Victoria told me about what you said to her last night. You think you can treat her that way, like a piece of shit on the floor and get away with it?”

Hang on; I didn’t say anything about what she said. He was goading her, I liked it.

She looked like she was about to deny it but there was way too much venom in her eyes for her to be able to ignore it, the dark bitter stuff was clearly eating away at her. “You don’t know anything
about her.”

“I know enough.”

Her eyes flared and darted to me, I knew what was coming even before she said anything. I moved away from Sebastian to Ralph who held out a cup of coffee for me. I took it gratefully and waited for
the bombshell to drop.

“Do you really know about her?” Naomi screeched. Her voice was already grating on me.

“Get on with whatever you’ve got to say and get out of my apartment and out of my life for that matter.” Sebastian said moving to my side, taking a cup of coffee from Ralph too.

Naomi whirled around on the spot. “She’s a child of the system. She doesn’t have any family or friends. God, she doesn’t even know who her parents are.”

I swallowed past the anger and tears building in my throat. I don’t know why Sebastian knowing about my heritage made me want to cry. He was just like everyone else, right?

Sebastian made a face. “And your point is? I’d say she was incredibly lucky to not know who her parents were because if she had parents like mine, I wouldn’t want to know them.”

That made her snap her mouth closed. I could see the fury building behind those eyes, her face turning ruddy and her shoulders becoming stiff.

“In fact,” Naomi sneered. “The reason why she doesn’t know who her parents are is because her father is a rapist and her Mother was just a girl when it happened. She couldn’t bear to look at poor
old Victoria here because just looking at that spawned baby, showed her the misery she went through. So, just so you know.” she boasted. “You are looking everyday into the face of a rapist. Just
lovely,”

I slammed my cup down on the counter and lunged for her. There was no way she was getting away with that. Ralph grabbed me around the waist whilst Sebastian grabbed my arms. Both of them tried to
hold me back as I went at that bitch. “You are so fucking dead.” I screamed at the top of my lungs. Hot molten fury and hurt ignited through my system. Never in my life had I wanted to hurt someone
as much as I wanted to hurt her.

“Don’t like the truth?” she smiled. “You’d think you’d be used to it by now with living with it for so long.”

“Ignore her.” Sebastian whispered in my ear.

My head span around to glare at him. “Ignore her?” I asked with exasperation. He couldn’t be serious.

“Yes.” his eyes pleaded with me. “She’s doing and saying those things for a reaction and you’re giving it to her. Calm down.”

That was one of the hardest things I’d had to do. Stand there and let someone say those things to me and about me and just do nothing. It took everything I had and more that I didn’t know I had to
calm myself down enough to let the tension fall out of my body.

My jaw was aching and my stomach was tight but I wasn’t going to attack her at the moment.

When she saw that I had backed down, her lip curled up and she became animated. “Are you not listening to me?” she screeched. “Look what you’re getting yourself involved with.”

Sebastian shrugged. “I know what I’m getting myself involved with thank you. I know she’s not a two timing whore who cheated on me with my best friend. I know she’s not after me because of my money
which honestly, is a relief and I know she doesn’t care where I come from unlike some. So if you’re finished, you can leave.”

“You can’t get rid of me.” she whined. “I’m carrying your child.”

“Yeah and about that, I’ll wait until the child is born and we’ll have a DNA test carried out then.”

Her face dropped, her eyes turning from venomous to worry in the blink of an eye. Then like any good actress, she blanked her features, her eyes turning into empty pools. She stepped forward, her
steps cautious but precise. “I’ll make sure all of you pay. Just watch me.”

“Sounds like a threat to me.” Ralph said with a nonchalant shrug. “What about you Sebastian?”

“Yes I have to agree.” he nodded then turned his head to look at Naomi, his eyes not moving from her face. “Are you sure you are in a position to do that, Naomi?”

Her jaw worked and her hands curled into fists. “Just watch it.” then she whirled around and stormed out. We all listened to her stomping her way down the passage and then the front door slammed.

We all sighed in relief at hearing that slam. I walked over to a stool and collapsed into it with Sebastian joining me on the next one along whilst Ralph stood there still shaking his head.

“In all of my life, I have never met anyone like her before and I don’t think I ever want to again.” I said into the silence.

“My brother, Lawrence told me when I first got together with her that she was a bad apple but I thought he was just trying to stick the boot in as they say but he wasn’t, he was right.”

“Has he told you, “I told you so?”?”

Sebastian laughed, his brows pulling together in thought “no, in fact he hasn’t.”

I opened my mouth to say that maybe his brother was a decent guy when the house phone rang. We all looked at it like it was a disease before Ralph walked over to it and picked it up. He didn’t even
get a hello out before he handed the phone to Sebastian.

Sebastian sighed and put the phone to his ear and listened with a completely blank face.

“I can’t do that, Mother.” ah, so now I knew who it was.

That blank face of his morphed into anger then to tiredness. He reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose. “No I don’t want you here. I’ll be at your place by lunch today.” then he hung up
without a goodbye, god bless or nothing.

“I guess we’ve got a lot of driving ahead of us.” Ralph commented. He grabbed his cup and walked out of the kitchen.

Again, I opened my mouth to ask how that left us when Sebastian got up, lifted me up off the stool, told me to get ready and to pack a bag with enough clothing for two days.

“But Sebastian, your family are not my family; you can’t just bring some stranger along. They’re going to be grieving for your Dad’s death.”

He laughed, pulling my arm down the passage to my room. “There is no grieving. Remember I told you the other night, there was no love.”

“Still,” I argued.

“Enough.” he cut me off and pulled me to him, wrapping his arms around me and pressed his lips to the top of my head. “I need you there with me. Just say you’ll come. Please.”

How could I say no to that?

Taking a deep breath, I pulled back enough to look up into those sea blue eyes. “Okay.”

He smiled showing off that small dimple and pressed his forehead against mine. “Thank you.”

Chapter Fifteen

You can share my room.

The drive to Cornwall took forever.

So much for us getting there for lunch time. I didn’t know it was so far away having never been that far from London before. As a child being placed in child care homes, most of them were in London
or surrounding counties, never this far out. The furthest I’d ever gone was Southend. Oh wait, maybe Shoeburyness, I think that was further.

Ralph, who was driving us, didn’t particularly put his foot down and seemed to keep a leisurely speed.

Since being up at the crack of dawn, I settled into the back seat having had it all to myself and slept for about an hour but the nervousness about meeting Sebastian’s family kept going over and
over in my mind.

We’d stopped for some food at McDonalds even though Rosa had packed up some lunches. The men ate like it was going out of fashion.

We arrived in Cornwall at three that afternoon and pulled to a stop outside a huge black wrought iron gate. Ralph had to speak into an intercom to be let it. After a couple of minutes, the gate
opened and he drove through.

I stared open mouthed at the house coming into view. It was huge and white with columns, as in columns like churches had. There was even a water feature out front that tinkled with water. Oh, my
God, I’d never seen one of those before.

Sebastian climbed out the car once it rolled to a stop and opened my door. I was ready to jump down but he placed his hands on my waist and lifted me down. I looked around his shoulders and gasped,
the place was beautiful. There was a balcony that ran all the way around from one side of the house to the other and various flowers and colours blooming everywhere.

“It’s beautiful.” I murmured.

Sebastian grunted. “That’s what you think until you get inside.”

It couldn’t be that bad surely?

I nearly tripped over my own feet when Sebastian took hold of my hand in his and gripped it tightly and pulled me along with him. That was the first time ever that we’d had skin contact.

I couldn’t help but take in the heat and softness of his palm and fingers as they moulded against mine.

He led me up the steps and to the front door where he rang the bell and waited. The doorbell was one of those that rang forever and sounded like it echoed all throughout the house.

Through the double glass and wood doors, I could see someone approaching. The door opened and a younger spitting image of Sebastian appeared. “Big bro.” the man smiled and man hugged Sebastian.
Then he looked to me and pulled me in for a hug too. I didn’t now what to do so I just kind of patted his shoulder. He pulled back and did that head tilt, eye thing.

“Don’t do that.” I warned. “He,” I pointed to Sebastian. “Does that enough for everybody,”

“I like her.” his brother commented.

“You can like all you want but no touching, Chris.”

Possessive much?

“Hey.” Chris raised his hands in surrender although his eyes sparkled with mischief. “All cool here.”

“Good.” Sebastian nodded and pushed his way through the door. “is everyone else here?”

Chris nodded in return and slipped his hands into the back pockets of his jeans. “Yep, Lawrence and Laura are in the dining room with Molly and Ferguson is working out, I think”

I had no clue who any of those people were they were talking about. It was hard to keep up with their conversation.

“Where’s Mother?”

Chris scratched his ear. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen her since breakfast but knowing her she’s watching from afar ready to pounce when she wants.”

“Come.” Sebastian mumbled and pulled on my hand leading me through long hallways that I was already lost in, down to a bright room that was the kitchen. It looked more like a professional kitchen
then a family one. There were huge stainless steel units everywhere and no other colours except silver and yellow...how bland.

“I know.” Chris laughed as if he heard my thoughts. “Feel sorry for us, we had to live here.”

I licked my dry lips. “Do any of you still live here?”

“Fuck no.” Chris answered.

“God no,” Sebastian replied at the same time as each other.

Okay then.

We came to a stop at what I guessed was the dining room. This room seemed even colder. The decoration was okay but the flower arrangements looked staged and old and there was a great big table that
had to seat at least sixteen to twenty people.

I looked down the length of it to see another man that looked very much like Sebastian and a little blonde woman next to him bouncing a baby girl on her lap. They looked up when we entered.

“Sebastian.” The man’s face broke out into a smile. He got up from his chair to hug his brother.

“Lawrence.” Seb said returning his hug and turned to me. “This is Victoria Jennings.”

Lawrence had a different smile than Sebastian, it was wider and the dimple wasn’t present. “Hello, it’s nice to meet you.”

The woman who had been sitting down was now standing behind Lawrence. He turned and pulled her into him, his arm fitting warmly over her shoulder. “This here is my Wife, Laura and the gorgeous baby
she is holding, yes.” he nodded. “does belong to me. Her name is Molly.”

Chris punched him in the shoulder and shook his head. “That head of yours is going to get bigger.”

“It has already.” Laura laughed and bounced the baby in her arms.

I fidgeted on the spot with all these people around me and me not knowing very much about them if anything at all. I began to bite my thumb nail.

Sebastian leaned into me. “Stop biting.”

“Sorry.” I murmured and tried to take my hand from his but he held on tighter. So I began to tap my foot.

He pushed the cream door open and stepped aside letting me enter. I bit my lip and slowly walked inside. My eyes bulged and my heart sped up. The place was beautiful and looked to be expensively
decorated.

The colour scheme of cream and gold ran throughout the room, making everything look clean and detailed.

To be honest, I was afraid to touch anything. Even to put my mark on something. I was afraid I’d touch a candle in one of the fancy holders and I’d break it.

“Don’t worry.” Sebastian whispered in my ear. His hands snaked around my waist as he buried his nose in my neck. “if you break anything, don’t worry about it. In fact, I’d do it just to piss my
Mother off.”

That wasn’t funny. I was still a nervous wreck and hadn’t met Sebastian’s Mum even though everyone assured me that she was around the house somewhere and would show herself eventually.

I stepped out of his arms and glared at him over my shoulder. “I’ve never stayed in somewhere so...posh looking. I don’t think I could sleep in here.”

“You won’t have to.”

I span around to face him. Hope ran through my system. “really?”

A wicked smile crossed his face. “You can share my room.”

I clucked my tongue and shook my head in exasperation. “There is no way I’m sleeping with you under your Mum’s roof.”

His brows drew together as he hitched his hands on his hips. “and why the hell not?”

Was he crazy?

“It goes against every rule there is in the book of doing stuff under parent’s roofs. I may not have had that but it doesn’t mean I’m immune.”

“That’s total bullshit, Victoria. You can keep your stuff in here or move it to my room. What’s it going to be?”

I really didn’t like this room. Even though the decoration was lovely and the bed looked to-die-for, something about it was off and made me want to run out screaming. It was cold and unwelcoming.

“Fine,” I sighed and gave in.

Sebastian clapped his hands and rubbed them together. “Yes.”

I narrowed my eyes at him as I pushed past him, moving to the door. “That doesn’t mean we’re getting frisky.”